The ''Bala Bodhisattva'' is an ancient Indian statue of a

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, found in 1904-1905 by German archaeologist F.O. Oertel (1862-1942) in

Sarnath Sarnath (Hindustani pronunciation: aːɾnaːtʰ also referred to as Sarangnath, Isipatana, Rishipattana, Migadaya, or Mrigadava) is a place located northeast of Varanasi, near the confluence of the Ganges and the Varuna rivers in Uttar Pr ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The statue has been decisive in matching the reign of

Kanishka Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire ...

with contemporary sculptural style, especially the type of similar sculptures from

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

, as its bears a dated inscription in his name.Papers on the Date of Kaniṣka, Arthur Llewellyn Basham, Brill Archive, 1969, p.27

/ref> This statue is in all probability a product of the

art of Mathura The Art of Mathura refers to a particular school of Indian art, almost entirely surviving in the form of sculpture, starting in the 2nd century BCE, which centered on the city of Mathura, in central northern India, during a period in which Bud ...

, which was then transported to the Ganges region.

Inscription

The inscription on the Bodhisattva explains that it was dedicated by a "Brother" (''Bhikshu'') named Bala, in the "Year 3 of Kanishka". This allows to be a rather precise date on the sculptural style represented by the statue, as year 3 is thought to be approximately 123 CE. The inscription further states that

(who ruled from his capital in

) had several

satraps A satrap () was a governor of the province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of ...

under his commands in order to rule his vast territory: the names of the

Indo-Scythian Indo-Scythians (also called Indo-Sakas) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into modern day Pakistan and Northwestern India from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th centur ...

Northern Satraps The Northern Satraps (Brahmi: , ''Kṣatrapa'', "Satraps" or , ''Mahakṣatrapa'', "Great Satraps"), or sometimes Satraps of Mathura, or Northern Sakas, are a dynasty of Indo-Scythian rulers who held sway over the area of Eastern Punjab and Math ...

Mahakshatrapa ("Great Satrap")

Kharapallana Kharapallana (Brahmi: , ; Greek: Ancient Greek: ) was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap who ruled around c. 130 CE. Name Kharapallana's name is attested in the Greek form ( grc, Χαροβαλανο) and in the Brahmi form , which are derived fr ...

and the Kshatrapa ("Satrap")

Vanaspara Vanaspara (ruled circa 130 CE) was an Indo-Scythian Northern Satrap (''kshtrapa''). He is mentioned as a "Satrap" (Brahmi:, ''Kṣatrapa'', " Satrap") of Kushan ruler Kanishka I on an inscription discovered in Sarnath, and dated to the 3rd year o ...

are mentioned as satraps for the eastern territories of Kanishka's empire. ;Inscription on the octagonal shaft There are altogether three inscriptions, the largest one being the inscription on the octagonal shaft of the umbrella. The octagonal shaft and its umbrella are visible in "Avatāraṇa: a Note on the Bodhisattva Image Dated in the Third Year of Kaniṣka in the Sārnāth Museum" by Giovanni Verardi. Original text:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Translation:
1. In the year 3 of the Great King Kaniska, onth3 of winter, day 22:
2–3. on this aforementioned

ate Ate or ATE may refer to: Organizations * Active Training and Education Trust, a not-for-profit organization providing "Superweeks", holidays for children in the United Kingdom * Association of Technical Employees, a trade union, now called the Nat ...

s the giftof the Monk Bala, Tripitaka Master and companion of the Monk Pusyavuddhi Pusyavrddhi or Pusyabuddhi?
4. this Bodhisattva and umbrella-and-staff was established
5. in Varanasi, at the Lord's promenade, together with ala'smother
6. and father, with his teachers and masters, his companions
7. and students, with the Tripitaka Master Buddhamitra,
8. with the Ksatrapa Vanaspara and Kharapallana,
9. and with the four communities,
10. for the welfare and happiness of all beings.
;Inscriptions on the base of the statue There are also two smaller inscriptions of similar content at the base of the statue: At the front of the base of the statue:
"The gift of Friar Bala, a master of the Tripitaka, (namely an image of) the Bodhisattva, has been erected by the great satrap Kharapallana together with the satrap Vanashpara."''Epigraphia Indica'' p.179
/ref> At the back of the base of the statue:
"In the 3rd year of the Maharaja Kanishka, the 3rd (month) of winter, the 23rd day, on this (date specified as) above has (this gift) of Friar Bala, a master of the Tripitaka, (namely an image of) the Bodhisattva and an umbrella with a post, been erected."

Style

The style of this statue is somewhat reminiscent of the earlier monumental

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

statues, usually dated to a few centuries earlier. On the other hand, despite other known instances of

Hellenistic influence on Indian art Hellenistic influence on Indian art and architecture reflects the artistic and architectural influence of the Greeks on Indian art following the conquests of Alexander the Great, from the end of the 4th century BCE to the first centuries of the com ...

, very little if any such influence can be seen in this type of statue. Thus, they are quite different from the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara. This statue is in all probability a product of the

, which was then transported to the Ganges region. The discovery was published in the "Archaeological Survey of India Annual Report for the Year 1904–1905", in an article by F.O. Oerte
pp. 59–104
The statue is now in the

Sarnath Museum Sarnath Museum is the oldest site museum of Archaeological Survey of India. It houses the findings and excavations at the archaeological site of Sarnath, by the Archaeological Survey of India. Sarnath is located near Varanasi, in the state of Ut ...

Gallery

File:Bala Bodhisattva statue inscriptions, front and back.jpg, The remaining inscriptions, at the front and back of the base of the Bala Bodhisattva statue. File:Bala Bodhisattva front and back views.jpg, Front and back views of the Bala Bodhisattva. File:Bodhisattva_dedicated_by_Bhikshu_Bala_at_Sarnath_123_CE.jpg, Frontal view File:Lion Capital of Ashoka 3.jpg, Inside view of the

, with the

Lion Capital of Ashoka The Lion Capital of Ashoka is the capital, or head, of a column erected by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in Sarnath, India, . Its crowning features are four life-sized lions set back to back on a drum-shaped abacus. The side of the abacus ...

at the center, and the Bala Bodhisattva to the left.

References

Sources

* Avatāraṇa: a Note on the Bodhisattva Image Dated in the Third Year of Kaniṣka in the Sārnāth Museum, by Giovanni Verardi, East and West, Vol. 35, No. 1/3 (September 1985), pp. 67–10
JSTOR

Inscription

Style

Gallery

References

Sources

See also